We are approaching that time again where we all crouch around computers and try our hardest to get into the classes we are required to take before graduating. My recommendation is to try and fit at least one fun class into that packed schedule of yours. Quick reminder that fun is absolutely subjective and you may not relate to my examples, but you can replace it with anything that appeals to you.
Just taking the required courses can become overwhelming. Knowing that you need to do exceedingly well in everything can lead to a lot of anxiety surrounding the semester and make it difficult to relax. It can also make it worse if your major is math heavy, reading heavy, memorization heavy, or filled with labs. You spend so much time doing the same thing over and over again that it will begin to feel like a drag and you’ll struggle so much more to make it through the semester.
For example, I have two majors, Applied Mathematical Economics and Creative Writing. One is practical and the other is more for fun (though I did get into grad school for it so don’t let anyone bully you out of that enjoyable topic). With this, I took a lot of creative writing courses and a lot of economics/math courses. The creative writing courses are the ones that I always enjoyed going to and strongly believe made my week significantly better. I know this because I don’t have a single one this semester. As I rapidly approach graduation, my one major is completely finished and I have to make sure to complete the requirements for my second major, which means that my schedule is packed full of exhausting math heavy courses.
Maybe this just means that I shouldn’t be doing a math focused major. I don’t think so though, because when I had the opportunity to take courses in something that I was passionate about and thoroughly enjoyed, the math and economics courses were something I almost enjoyed as well. They certainly weren’t as painful as they currently are.
I understand that you may be overwhelmed with a crazy amount of labs in your day, in which case I won’t encourage you to add more to your load. That being said, it’s nice to at least consider a hobby that will give you the break you need. Which, personally, I don’t have time for with the homework, studying, and internships. Yes, I love writing with all my heart, but it seems unreasonable to sit on the computer and write about a fantasy world when I also need to be making annotated bibliographies. So, if you have the time, take advantage of it and you likely won’t need to take up a three hour chunk of your week taking an additional class, but if class time is the only way to force yourself to do the thing you enjoy, sign up for the class.
College, though quite depressing, is not meant to make you feel like all the fun is being drained from you as each semester passes. That’s not part of the coveted “college experience.” So, try to find something worthwhile that will drag you through those difficult weeks. Be it playing poorly in the band, painting a multitude of increasingly odd self portraits in an art class, laughing at the interesting stories offered up in creative writing, or even taking a math elective that sounds interesting to you, there is something for everyone out there.